By Analía Rojas | 2025-01-07

BUENOS AIRES -- As is customary during the southern summer, the Chinese fishing fleet has ramped up its activity in the South Atlantic near Argentine waters.

The Chinese fishing fleet embarks on its annual route in the Pacific near the Galapagos Islands, focusing its operations from June to September to exploit an abundance of squid.

During this phase, it rapidly depletes the area's resources.

By late September, the fleet begins its southward journey toward the Peruvian coast. In October, the vessels stop at El Callao port to restock on food and fuel.

From Peru, the fleet traverses Chile's EEZ before reaching the South Atlantic, adjusting their movements based on the availability of marine resources.

Then, in December, the fishing vessels position themselves along the boundary of Argentina's EEZ, ready for further operations.

By late December, more than 90 vessels had been detected, with estimates suggesting this number could surge to 500 in January, according to Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) data.

These vessels primarily operate near mile 201, the boundary of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to a late December statement from the PNA.

However, Argentine authorities have caught the Chinese fishing in Argentine waters too.

The Chinese fleet employs a combination of government subsidies, overfishing and tactics that often skirt the edges of legality, raising concerns about the sustainability of marine resources and national sovereignty, say industry representatives.

Darío Sócrate, director of the Argentine Chamber of Squid Shipowners (CAPA), highlighted the destruction wrought by unregulated fishing during the southern summer in an interview with El Chubut in November.

Every summer, about 500 vessels operate in Argentine waters "without any form of regulation," he explained.

These fleets disregard fishing season restrictions, benefit from subsidies provided by their countries of origin and transfer their catches on the high seas, he said.

Furthermore, he emphasized reports of slave labor aboard some of these vessels, adding that their catches -- some obtained illegally within Argentine waters -- often end up in the same markets as those of the regulated Argentine fleet.

Plunder

These unregulated operations extract approximately 300,000 tons of seafood annually, valued at over $700 million.

The plunder not only undermines Argentina's fishing industry but devastates biodiversity and the regenerative capacity of key species, particularly squid.

Squid, an essential link in the South Atlantic's food chain, serves as a primary food source for common hake, sperm whales, penguins and other marine species.

Chinese overfishing constitutes an "incalculable environmental disaster," marine conservation specialist and former United Nations adviser Milko Schvartzman warned in a 2021 iProfesional article.

"Along with plankton, squid forms the foundation of the entire South Atlantic food web," Schvartzman emphasized.

Adding to the problem, the Chinese often transport illegally caught squid from Argentine or near-Argentine waters to Montevideo, Uruguay, where workers load it into containers for export to the European Union and the United States.

Once the squid reaches those markets, merchants deceptively label it "Product of China," concealing its origin and further undermining Argentine fishing.

Regional agreements in focus

The situation has grown more complicated from recent provincial agreements to facilitate Chinese fishing.

In November, the province of Santa Cruz signed a "letter of intent" with Hongdong Fisheries, China's second-largest fishing company, while the province of Chubut is negotiating similar arrangements.

The agreement with Santa Cruz includes Chinese investment to modernize port infrastructure, build shipyards and establish new fish processing plants.

However, Sócrate criticized the move.

"Facilitating operations for these ships and allowing them to dock for unloading are nonsense," he told El Chubut.

Rather than supporting local fleets, the proposed infrastructure could solidify a model for prioritizing foreign exploitation of Argentine resources.

Business chambers within the fishing sector have expressed strong opposition to these provincial agreements, warning of their detrimental impact on local industry and resource sustainability.

CAPA and the Argentine Chamber of Fisheries and Freezer Shipowners (CAPeCA) have raised concerns about the risks posed to Argentina's fishing industry, emphasizing that these agreements primarily benefit foreign fleets while sidelining local operators.

Impact on national fishing

The PNA and the Interdisciplinary Working Team for the Control of Maritime Spaces and Their Resources (EICEMAR) have intensified monitoring operations to counteract illegal fishing.

Between 2018 and 2023, Argentina recorded 60 interceptions of foreign vessels, detaining at least 15 for illegal fishing within its EEZ.

The Argentine fishing industry faces significant problems as the massive catches by the Chinese reduce the profitability and job opportunities of local fleets.

Argentine authorities estimate annual losses of $2 billion to $3.6 billion due to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

This imbalance severely disadvantages domestic industry, especially as the Chinese fleet has expanded by 800% over the past decade.